Disinfecting apparatus



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. C. HAVEN.

DISINPEGTING APPARATUS.

w-u. L

m P Sm.. .d Y DU DU 4t ...u1u um l n *Illllll A v 2mes@ JMW UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT C. HAVEN, OF VEST BAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

DISINFECTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 467,167', dated January19, 1892.

Application filed May l1, 1891.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, ALBERT C. HAVEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at West Bay City, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Disinfecting andDeodorizing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to deodorizing and disinfecting apparatus andpertainslnore especially to that class of deodorizing and disinfectingdevices which are arranged to contain a disinfecting liquid or compoundto be disseminated throughout the room by evaporation; and the inventionconsists, chiefly, in the construction, arrangement, and combination ofthe several parts of the device, together with the operation of thesame, as I shall hereinafter more fully explain, and specilically setforth in the claims of this specification.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a means forcontaining and evaporating a disinfecting or deodorizing liquid orcompound which will be handy and convenient for charging andmanipulation, will also be symmetrical in form and ornamental inappearance, and will also retain the fluid free from dust or dirt.

Another object of the invention is to arrange and construct a device forcontaining and evaporating a liquid disinfecting or d eodorizing mixturewhich will present a large area of evaporating surface to theair-currents of a room, whereby a thorough complete purifying operationis obtained.

My improved device will be found illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which similar letters of reference will be found indicatingthe same parts throughout the several views.

Figure l represents a front view of my improved device without anoutside casing. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same from front torear. Fig. 3 is avertical section taken at y y in Fig. 5 of the deviceas contained in a case for hanging against the Wall of a room.

Fig. 4 is a top or plan view of Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectionof Fig. l, taken at xx. Fig. Gis a transverse vertical section of amodified form of arranging the device fr providwardly-projecting flangesb ou the sides, which have elongated openings or air-passages e, Whilethe front side is provided with aflange f, having an elongated openingg, and the outer edges of these flanges are turned upward, forming a rib7L.

t' is an upper chamber contained in a casing composed of theinwardly-inclined deliecting side plates j and front inclined plates k,While the back plate l is preferably arranged to stand vertically withthe rear side of the vessel, and these plates are preferably of metal orglass joined together at their lateral edges and arranged with theirlower edges resting upon a packing-strip n, which is laid upon theflange f Within the rib h, and the parts are retained in position'byrods o, provided with hooks p and q, caught over the upper edge of thecasing and the lower edge of the flanges b.

r are cross-bars of wire laid diagonally across the upper end opening sof the chamber and With their ends resting upon the upper corners of thecasing, and t are Wicks of fibrous material and provided with the metalpieces u, each bent upon itselfto a U form and with the limbs of the Uclosed upon opposite sides of the upper ends of the wicks and forming aloop o, with its middle portion cut out, through which the rods r arepassed,

the wicks being preferably bent transversely to a semicircular `form andarranged lwith their convex sides presented to each other, and'whichallows each rod to pass through a loop on each wick, so that the Wickswill depend from the bars into the .vessel in asemicylindrical form,which forms channels a on the lateral sides of the Wicks, Whilechannelsb are arranged thereby on the front and rear sides thereof, the lowerends of the wicks being retained in proper form to produce the channelby the lower metal piece c', which, first being bent to form, has itsends clasped over the side edges of the wick. The upper section orcasing is removed and the desired liquid deodorizing mixture is placedin the vessel, and the wicks are also thoroughly saturated therewith,and the casing is then placed in position and secured to the vessel. Thesaturated wicks are then put in place, with their lower ends dependinginto the liquid. The device is then ready for usein bathrooms,refrigerators, cellars, tbc., and is preferably placed in a position toreceive the benefit of the usual upward aircurrents passing throughoutthe inclosure, preferably taking advantage of the Ventilatingappliances, and the air-currents passing in at the openings e and g aredeiected by the side inclined plates j and the front inclined platesr tofull contact with the saturated wicks, so that the products of theevaporation going on in the liquid contained by the wicks is caught upand carried out by the air-currents and disseminated throughout the roomor inclosure, and with the usual circulation of the air in the inclosurecontinually going on and the device being arranged to operate inconjunction therewith a great proportion of the air is passed throughthe chamber and in contact with the wicks, so that the air becomes fullyimpregnated with an odor and germ extinguishing medium, which thoroughlyand cf ciently eradicates all impurities and foul matter, together withdisease germs, dsc., contained therein.

The foregoing description refers more particularly to the device asillustrated in Figs. l, 2, and 5, while in Fig. 3 is illustrated thedevice as arranged for operation in a room, oiiice, hall, duc., (ltherein being a back board to be hung against or affixed to the wall ofthe room in aproper position to receive the action of upwardly-movin gair-currents from a stove, register, or ventilator, the., and to thelower portion of this board is secured a shelf c', and upon this shelfis placed the vessel a, with the upper casing and wicks aliixed therein,as before described, the upper portion of the casing extending nearly tothe upper portion of the board.

g is a casing for inclosing the device, and consists of the verticalfront plate 7i and side plates ,with their edges joined to the edges ofthe front plate, while their rear edges are secured to the face of theboard d, and this casing extends from a point below the shelf e to apoint above or coincidentwith the upper open end of the upper chamber,so that side channels j are arranged between the sides of the vessel aand the plates i', communicating with the openings e, and a channel71:', communicating with the opening g, is arranged between the frontplate h and the side of the vessel.

m' is a cover hinged by its rear edges to the upper portion of the backd 'and at a point considerably above the upper edges of the side platesi and is arranged to incline downwardly, with its front edge restingupon the upper edge of the front plate 7L', and may be provided eitherwith an inclined or convex upper side, as desired, so that an open spacen is provided on each side between the cover and the upper edges ot' theside plates 'i' for the exit of air-currents from the open end of thechamber 'L'.

The inclosed device now being hung in the in fluence of upwardly-passingair-currents in proximity to a stove or register receives theair-currents from below in the passages or channels '7" and 7c" throughthe openings c and gto be deflected against the wiclcsurfaces by theinclined plates] and 7o, and thence through the openings n to the room,and this action continually going on causes the atmosphere of a room tobecome thoroughly impregnated with the vapors of the evaporated liquid,which, acting chemically upon the foreign matter, germs, the., containedin the air, causes a change to occur therein, which renders the noxiousgases and disease-germs inactive and not able to affect the health ofthe occupants of the room. Y

Of course the casing for inclosing the vessel and wick-chamber may bemade of metal, wood, or other material, as most convenient, and maybeornamented in any desirable manner to suit the position in'which it isplaced and the surroundings thereof, and as the apparatus is capable ofuse in very many places requiring various capacities different forms ofconstruction can be arranged, if desired, the principal feature of theconstruction being to provide as great an area of wick-surface forexposure to the air-currents as possible within a limited area of space,land for a greater size, adapted to use in halls and large l rooms, Iprefer a form shown in Figs. 6, 7, and

8, with the vessel for containing the liquid l and also thewiclecliamber arranged in a semicircular form, so that a central channelor space o is provided at the rear side between the back board d and thevessel, while the outer casing g', inclosing the vessel andwickchamber,is inclined inwardly toward the top or upper end and provides inclineddetlectingsurfaces, leaving an upper end opening p in the form of aiiue, instead of the side openings a, before mentioned, and a series ofwicks t are then placed so as to depend from upper supports with theirlower ends into the vessel and arranged transversely to radiate around.i

a center, so as to provide spaces or channels between the exposedsurfaces of the wicks for the passage of air-currents, the contractedupper end of the casing reaching to the outer edges of the upper ends ofthe wicks, so that the air-currents are forced to pass between the wicksas they pass upward.

This form of device, while being substantially the same in its generalfeatures as the styles formerly described, provides a greater area ofwick-surface, and hence a very much greater capacity, and is moreparticularly adapted for use in connection with hot-airregiste1s,`l1ospitals, and theater-halls, dac.

IOO

IIO

It will be seen that in all of the various formsof construction the samegeneral arrangement of the principal features of the apparatus ismaintained-the tank for containing the liquid, the wick-chamber abovethe vessel, the wicks depending from a support above into the vessel,passages for admitting air-currents to and from the wickchamber, anddeflecting-plates for directing the air-currents to contact with thewick-surface-the principal aim of the construction being to attain thegreatest possible effect by Van apparatus within a reduced or limitedarea and to provide a great area of evaporatingsurface for the liquid ata limited cost and expense.

Of course it will be noticed that by the arrangement of thedetlecting-plates the upward air-currents are directed to contact withthe saturated wicks for taking up the evaporation thereof, and at thesame time the eX- posed surfaces of the wicks are protected from theinfluence of other violent air-currents which may occur from an openwindow or other source, so that a too great and rapid evaporation of theliquid is prevented and a steady and even operation of the apparatus isacquired with no attention, except to renew the liquid from time totime, and by providing the casing and cover for the vessel andwick-chamber a neat and ornamental appearance is provided and protectionfrom dirt and dust is also secured.

While I have illustrated several forms of applying my improvement, otherforms may be` arranged for special purposes of a like nature, andtherefore I do not confine my invention to the precise forms hereinshown, but claim as my invention as follows:

l. In deodorizingand disinfecting device, the combination, with the tankfor containing the liquid and a wick suspended above and reaching intothe tank, of the deiiectingplates having their upper ends in proximityto the wick and with their lower ends reaching outwardly beyond theedges of the tank for the admission of air between the plates and tank,substantially as set forth.

2. In a deodorizing and disinfecting apparatus, the combination, with acasing and aV cover provided with side openings, of a tank within thecasing and provided with openings forming air-passages between thecasing and tank, the deiiecting-plates with their lower edges reachingover the said air-passages and with their upper ends leaning toward eachother, and a Wick supported between the adjacent upper ends of thedeflecting-plates and with its lower end reaching into the tank,substantially as set forth.

3. A disinfecting and deodorizing device consisting of a tank forcontaining theliquid, the wicks supported above and depending into thetank, the deiiecting-plates above and with their lower edges reachingoutwardly beyond the edges of the tank, forming airpassages between theplates and tank, and a cover reaching over the upper ends of thedeflecting-plates and provided with side openings, for the purpose setforth, substantially as described. l

et. The combination, in a disinfeoting and deodorizing apparatus, of thevessel for containing the liquid, the wick-chamber above the vessel,having an open top and with its bottom of a greater area transverselythan the vessel and projecting over the sides thereof and provided withopenings forming air-passages between the sides of the vessel and thesides of the wick-chamber, and a series of wicks within the chamber anddependinginto the vessel, substantially as set fort-h` 5. Thecombination of the vessel for containing the liquid air-purifying mediumand provided around itsupper edge with an outwardlyprojecting flangehaving openings forming air-passages and having on its edge auupwardly-projecting rib, a wick-chamber casing with its lower edgeresting on the said iiange outside of the said openings and providedwith an open upper end, the wicks supported upon the upper end of thesaid casing and depending into the vessel, and removable means forsecuring the said casing Y upon the flange, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT C. HAVEN.

Witnesses:

GEO. P. THOMAS, JAS. E. THOMAS.

